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Weekly Education Update 1/20-1/26

Weekly Education Update

1/20-1/26

Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Libya, DRC

Sudan and South Sudan

The Sudanese defense minister, General Abdul Rahim Mohamed Hussien, has declared that his country is planning to start producing heavy weapons after it already ended dependence on purchases of small arms from outside.

The Arab League has renewed its investigate mission in Syria, extending the initiative to February 23rd, with Syrian approval. However, the investigators of six countries, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the UAE, who comprise the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be departing Syria despite the mission’s extension, owing to insufficient progress in stopping violence on the ground and the physical dangers of the ongoing violence within Syria. The departure of these observers will leave the League mission with only about a third of its original strength.

Violence has continued unabated throughout Syria this week with BBC News reporting some 60 deaths on Tuesday, the 24th of January. A further 24 were reported dead on Wednesday amid a sweep by security forces in the city of Hama and fierce fighting between Security forces and defecting troops of the Free Syrian Army. Further, Reuters has reported that sporadic clashes between security forces and Free Syrian army troops have beenongoing in Duoma, not far from the Syrian capital of Damascus. Among those killed in this week’s violence was the head of the Syrian Red Crescent, Dr. Abd-al-Razzaq Jbeiro, who was killed while driving a marked vehicle on a roadbetween Damascus and Idlib. Further, Greek Orthodox priest Rev. Basilious Nasser was shot and killed in the streets of Hama on Wednesday. The Syrian government laid blame for the attacks on “armed terrorist groups” while the opposition sources reported the priest to have been shot by government forces.

Reuters reported Thursday on theexplosion of instances of kidnapping in Syrian cities, particularly in the city of Homs, since the beginning of the Syrian unrest. While many of the present instances have not yet come to violence, the kidnappings are reported to none the less be largely sectarian in nature. Opposition sources reporting that in particular, pro-regime Alawite militias known as shabbiha, have been responsible for numerous kidnappings. Other instances however, have been undertaken strictly for monetary purposes.

BBC News reports thatfour people were killed in the Libyancity of Bani Walid on Monday. Bani Walid’s local council head declared that the deaths were the result of clashes between militias and the remaining remnants of pro-Gaddafi fighters in the area, however these claims were rebuked by the transitional Libyan government which asserted that the deaths were the result of clashes between rival militias and that pro-Qaddafi fighters were not involved; the violence allegedly breaking out after a disputed arrest, and that the defeated militia was actually backing the transitional government. In addition, Medecins Sans Frontieres reported Thursday that it has suspended its activity in Libya in protest of ongoing torture of prisoners conducted by Libyan militia groups. Amnesty International has claimed that several prisoners have died under torture since the fall of dictator Muammar Qaddafi, with the central Libyan government having relatively limited oversight over the some 60 detention centers scattered throughout Libya. Owing to such reports, the United Nations has concerns about the conditions under which Libyan prisoners are presently being held.

DRC

After contesting the November election results and holding his own swearing-in ceremony on December 24th, Tshisekedi has announced that he plans to form a rival government this week. He said he is “obliged to form a government on the basis of necessity and urgency and to govern by decree until elected institutions are put in place on the basis of a real population census and organization of elections on all levels”.

Washington has started showing support for a power-sharing agreement between Kabila and Tshisekedi. The only problem is, neither Kabila nor Tshisekedi has shown any interest. Jason Stearns notes that it’s difficult to see how a power-sharing deal would be pushed through, due to deep divisions within both donors and the opposition party. It would also not resolve issues surrounding the flawed elections. Stearns suggests four options: declare the elections null and void and hold new polls, recount the ballots, disregard the presidential poll and salvage the legislative elections or do nothing. Right now, The US seems intent on the power-sharing agreement, while European powers such as Belgium have given up on the process all together and South Africa remains pro-Kabila. However the first three options will all require international support and funding, so the path forward remains unclear.

South African police arrested 150 members of the Congolese diaspora last week in Johannesburg after clashes erupted between Kabila’s and Tshisekedi’s supporters. However there are already allegations that the arrests were politically motivated, as the majority of arrests were of Tshisekedi’s supporters. "The government of the DRC wants to silence Congolese that were campaigning for democracy in the DRC here in South Africa," said Jean-Pierre Lukamba, the deputy chairman of the African Diaspora Forum.

Doctors without Borders (MSF) announced that 86% of HIV-positive Congolese have no access to life-saving anti-retroviral medication. Out of a population of 68 million, more than a million have contracted the virus yet only 350,000 received drug therapy last year. ARV’s are crucial to ensure that HIV-positive people continue to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but also can be coupled with cheap drug therapy to prevent the transmission from mother to child. Yet only 1% of all pregnant women in the country were on ARVs last year. MSF said, “The conditions of access to care for people living with HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of Congo are catastrophic.” One problem is the high price of ARVs, as international donors like the Global Fund have been forced to pull out of the country due to the economic climate.

The education update is produced every Thursday to update STAND members and the advocacy community about developments with regards to genocide and crimes against humanity. For more information contact the following: